LOCATION-BASED TASK AND GAME FUNCTIONALITY
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
- receiving, by one or more configured computing systems, information about a plurality of promotional offers made available by multiple vendors, each of the promotional offers having an associated reward corresponding to one or more items commercially available from an associated vendor and having one or more associated eligibility criteria for use in identifying users eligible to obtain the associated reward;
receiving, by the one or more configured computing systems, an indication of completion of a task by a first user, wherein the completion of the task is performed by the first user as part of qualifying to obtain the reward associated with a first promotional offer of the plurality of promotional offers, and wherein the first user satisfies the eligibility criteria associated with the first promotional offer; and
performing, by the one or more configured computing systems, one or more actions from a group of actions (A)-(I) including;
(A) before the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, providing, by a location-based task-game server system executing on the one or more configured computing systems, information to a client device of the first user as part of a graphical user interface of the location-based task-game server system, the provided information identifying the task and identifying other information selected for the first user by the location-based task-game server system, and wherein the completion of the task by the first user is performed based on selection by the first user of information about the identified task via the graphical user interface;
(B) before the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, determining, by the one or more configured computing systems, the task to be performed by the first user for the first promotional offer in a manner specific to the first user, and providing information to the first user to enable the first user to perform the task for the first promotional offer;
(C) after the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, providing, to the associated vendor for the first promotional offer by the one or more configured computing systems, information about task results that are generated by the completion of the task by the first user, and receiving information from the vendor to validate that the task results are acceptable, wherein the received information from the vendor qualifies the first user to obtain the reward associated with the first promotional offer;
(D) after the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, providing, by the one or more configured computing systems, information to the associated vendor for the first promotional offer about one or more steps to be performed as part of a validation process to use for a later attempt by a person to redeem the reward associated with the first promotional offer, the provided information including two or more of a group including a photo of the first user and a name of the first user and a unique identifier that is associated with the first promotional offer and with the first user, the provided information further including instructions for the associated vendor to use other of the provided information as part of the validation process;
(E) after the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, providing, by the one or more configured computing systems to the associated vendor for the first promotional offer, task results that are generated by the completion of the task by the first user, the provided information further including one or more types of information about performance of the task by the first user;
(F) after the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, analyzing, by the one or more configured computing systems, one or more types of information about performance of the task by the first user, to enable determining one or more preferences of the first user based at least in part on the one or more types of information;
(G) identifying, by the one or more configured computing systems, a user group that includes multiple related users sharing at least one common attribute, and using information about one or more users in the user group to provide functionality that benefits one or more other additional users in the user group;
(H) identifying, by the one or more configured computing systems, a vendor group that includes multiple related vendors sharing at least one common attribute, and using information about one or more vendors in the vendor group to provide functionality that benefits one or more other additional vendors in the vendor group; and
(I) identifying, by the one or more configured computing systems, an offer group that includes multiple related offers sharing at least one common attribute, and using information about one or more offers in the offer group to provide functionality involving one or more other additional offers in the offer group.
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Abstract
Techniques are described for providing functionality and information to users, including providing promotional information and opportunities to users of mobile devices in manners that are based at least in part on activities and locations of the users (e.g., based on games played by the users on their mobile devices and/or based on user satisfaction of system-directed tasks associated with offers or other activities). At least some of the promotional information and opportunities may be made available by various companies or entities that provide products and/or services (e.g., retailers, merchants, wholesalers, distributors, etc.) and/or by various companies or entities that provide advertising for available products and/or services. Various types of activities may be defined and used to provide promotional information and opportunities to users of mobile devices in particular embodiments and situations.
37 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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receiving, by one or more configured computing systems, information about a plurality of promotional offers made available by multiple vendors, each of the promotional offers having an associated reward corresponding to one or more items commercially available from an associated vendor and having one or more associated eligibility criteria for use in identifying users eligible to obtain the associated reward; receiving, by the one or more configured computing systems, an indication of completion of a task by a first user, wherein the completion of the task is performed by the first user as part of qualifying to obtain the reward associated with a first promotional offer of the plurality of promotional offers, and wherein the first user satisfies the eligibility criteria associated with the first promotional offer; and performing, by the one or more configured computing systems, one or more actions from a group of actions (A)-(I) including; (A) before the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, providing, by a location-based task-game server system executing on the one or more configured computing systems, information to a client device of the first user as part of a graphical user interface of the location-based task-game server system, the provided information identifying the task and identifying other information selected for the first user by the location-based task-game server system, and wherein the completion of the task by the first user is performed based on selection by the first user of information about the identified task via the graphical user interface; (B) before the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, determining, by the one or more configured computing systems, the task to be performed by the first user for the first promotional offer in a manner specific to the first user, and providing information to the first user to enable the first user to perform the task for the first promotional offer; (C) after the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, providing, to the associated vendor for the first promotional offer by the one or more configured computing systems, information about task results that are generated by the completion of the task by the first user, and receiving information from the vendor to validate that the task results are acceptable, wherein the received information from the vendor qualifies the first user to obtain the reward associated with the first promotional offer; (D) after the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, providing, by the one or more configured computing systems, information to the associated vendor for the first promotional offer about one or more steps to be performed as part of a validation process to use for a later attempt by a person to redeem the reward associated with the first promotional offer, the provided information including two or more of a group including a photo of the first user and a name of the first user and a unique identifier that is associated with the first promotional offer and with the first user, the provided information further including instructions for the associated vendor to use other of the provided information as part of the validation process; (E) after the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, providing, by the one or more configured computing systems to the associated vendor for the first promotional offer, task results that are generated by the completion of the task by the first user, the provided information further including one or more types of information about performance of the task by the first user; (F) after the receiving of the indication of the completion of the task, analyzing, by the one or more configured computing systems, one or more types of information about performance of the task by the first user, to enable determining one or more preferences of the first user based at least in part on the one or more types of information; (G) identifying, by the one or more configured computing systems, a user group that includes multiple related users sharing at least one common attribute, and using information about one or more users in the user group to provide functionality that benefits one or more other additional users in the user group; (H) identifying, by the one or more configured computing systems, a vendor group that includes multiple related vendors sharing at least one common attribute, and using information about one or more vendors in the vendor group to provide functionality that benefits one or more other additional vendors in the vendor group; and (I) identifying, by the one or more configured computing systems, an offer group that includes multiple related offers sharing at least one common attribute, and using information about one or more offers in the offer group to provide functionality involving one or more other additional offers in the offer group. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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receiving, by one or more configured computing systems, information about a first promotional offer for a vendor, the first promotional offer having one or more associated eligibility criteria and having an associated reward corresponding to one or more items commercially available from the vendor; determining, by the one or more configured computing systems, that a first user satisfies the eligibility criteria based at least in part on one or more geographical locations of the first user; providing, by the one or more configured computing systems, information to a client device of the first user to cause a graphical user interface to be displayed on the client device, the graphical user interface indicating one or more rewards that have been earned by the first user related to other promotional offers from other vendors and indicating multiple tasks to be performed by the first user that include a first task to be completed in order to obtain the reward associated with the first promotional offer; receiving, by the one or more configured computing systems, an indication of completion of the first task by the first user; and initiating, by the one or more configured computing systems, providing the reward associated with the first promotional offer to the first user based at least in part on the completion of the first task. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored contents that configure a computing system to perform a method, the method comprising:
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receiving, by the configured computing system, information about a promotional offer for a vendor, the promotional offer having an associated reward corresponding to one or more items commercially available from the vendor; participating, by the configured computing system, in performance of an identified task by an eligible user based at least in part on one or more interactions of the eligible user with a mobile device in one or more specified geographical locations, wherein completion of the identified task by the eligible user qualifies the eligible user to obtain the reward associated with the promotional offer and includes obtaining information from the eligible user related to the vendor; and after the completion of the identified task by the eligible user, providing, by the configured computing system, task results for the vendor that are generated by the completion of the identified task by the eligible user, the provided task results including the information from the eligible user related to the vendor; and initiating, by the configured computing system, providing the reward associated with the promotional offer to the eligible user based at least in part on the completion of the identified task. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A configured system comprising:
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one or more hardware processors of one or more computing systems; and one or more modules that are configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more hardware processors, implement at least some functionality of a location-based task-game server system by; receiving information about a promotional offer for a vendor, the promotional offer having an associated reward corresponding to one or more items commercially available from the vendor; participating in performance of an identified task by an eligible user based at least in part on one or more interactions of the eligible user with a mobile device, wherein completion of the identified task by the eligible user qualifies the eligible user to obtain the reward associated with the promotional offer; after the completion of the identified task by the eligible user, providing, to the vendor, information about task results that are generated by the completion of the identified task by the eligible user; receiving information from the vendor to validate that the task results are acceptable, wherein the received information from the vendor qualifies the eligible user to obtain the reward associated with the promotional offer; and initiating providing the reward associated with the promotional offer to the eligible user based at least in part on the received information from the vendor. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification